WOODINVILLE, Wash. (February 10, 2020) – Ste. Michelle Wine Estates has appointed Team One as its lead agency, following a review.
Team One will handle advertising and social campaigns as well as media planning and buying for several Ste. Michelle Wine Estates brands, effective immediately.
“The selection of Team One came after an extensive search through an RFP process of creative agencies which began in the fourth quarter of 2019,” said Francis Perrin, Chief Marketing Officer for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. “We met passionate agency teams during our search and were impressed with the caliber of thinking, quality people and love for the Ste. Michelle portfolio of brands from all. Our decision to work with Team One came down to the best fit based on their creative, fresh, and bold ideas that are going to resonate with both our current consumers and the next generation of wine drinkers.”
Perrin added, “Ste. Michelle and Team One will work together to cut through the ‘sea of sameness’ of the wine industry and achieve our primary objectives – increase sales of our wines and grow the long-term equity of our brands. This partnership will also solidify Ste. Michelle’s position as a leading premium wine company and accelerate our transformation on our journey to become the most modern marketers in the wine industry.”
Julie Michael, Chief Executive Officer for Team One, added, “We were immediately drawn to the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates team because of their creative appetite and ambition for transformational marketing. This iconic portfolio of brands is poised to make several major moves in the market, potentially putting the wine industry on notice. We are honored for this incredible opportunity to demonstrate our long-term brand thinking and integrated capabilities to accelerate Ste. Michelle’s growth and achieve enduring impact.”
Ste. Michelle began the agency search process in fourth quarter 2019.
Ste. Michelle retained the services of Joanne Davis Consulting to assist with the process.
About Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, located outside of Seattle, Washington, has a distinguished history that dates back to 1934. The company pioneered vinifera grape growing in Washington State while wines under the Ste. Michelle label were first introduced in 1967. Today, Ste. Michelle owns more than 3,900 vineyard acres across Washington, Oregon and California with key sites certified with the LIVE, Salmon Safe or Napa Green designations. Ste. Michelle’s ‘String of Pearls’ wine portfolio represents owned or imported brands, all demonstrating the producers’ unwavering commitment to creating distinctive, high quality wines from authentic estate vineyards. Chateau Ste. Michelle, its cornerstone winery, enjoys winemaking partnerships with some of the world’s most distinguished vintners. Col Solare is an alliance with Tuscany’s Piero Antinori, Eroica Riesling is a partnership with the Mosel’s Ernst Loosen and Tenet is a collaboration with Michel Gassier and Philippe Cambie of France. Ste. Michelle’s charitable giving program, which supports some 400 non-profit organizations annually, has provided more than $3 million for scholarships for high-achieving, low-income students at Washington universities. The company also was the principal fundraiser for Washington State University’s viticulture and enology institution, the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Wine Science Center.
Ste. Michelle’s Washington portfolio includes: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, 14 Hands, Col Solare, Northstar, Spring Valley Vineyard, MERF, INTRINSIC, Seven Falls and Michelle sparkling wines. In California, the company owns Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (with Italy’s Antinori family), Conn Creek (Napa Valley) and Patz & Hall (Sonoma). Ste. Michelle also owns Erath Winery, in Dundee, Oregon. The company became the exclusive U.S. importer in 2006 for the renowned Marchesi Antinori wines of Italy and Chile’s Haras de Pirque wines, for Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte of France in 2009, and for New Zealand’s Villa Maria Estate in 2010.
About Team One
Team One is Publicis Groupe’s fully integrated media, digital and communications agency dedicated to helping premium brands thrive in the modern media landscape. Team One has five North American offices, including its Los Angeles headquarters, Dallas, New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Team One clients include Lexus, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, HSBC Premier, Expedia, Jacuzzi Brands, St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, Cathay Pacific, VISA, Make-a-Wish, It Gets Better Project, Gateway for Cancer Research, Warner Brothers Interactive, and W Hotels. Visit TeamOne-USA.com.
